There I was, sitting at the Thai immigration office waiting to get my re-entry permit. Everything was going well, as I sat there waiting for my number to be called, flipping through my passport reminiscing on all the places I had been to, when all of a sudden it dawned on me that I only had 3 pages left in my passport. When did that happen??? Panic started setting in when I realized that 3 pages left in my passport and planning on going to 3 countries over Fall break was probably not a good thing… Even if I could make it through fall break and get back into Thailand, I definitely wasn’t getting back home on this passport… I immediately went into panic mode and thought about all the worst case scenarios… being stranded in Vietnam and not being able to get back to Thailand, or flying home only to get turned away at LAX… Obviously, I was over reacting and stressed because I didn’t even know where to start or what to do, so here’s what to do if you ever need to get a new passport while you are abroad.
Step 1: Don’t panic
Things will work out, and there is no need to panic. There are always options, and you won’t be stranded anywhere. There are embassies all over the world to assist their citizens when things like this happen.
Step 2: Contact the embassy wherever you are
Luckily for me there was an US Consulate General in Chiang Mai. I don’t know why I ever panicked and thought I wouldn’t be able to get a new passport while abroad. Embassies and consulates deal with this everyday, it’s routine to them. Each embassy/ consulate has a different process, and all I had to do was schedule an appointment online and fill out the application. I had some questions based on the logistics of it, like when I should I schedule my appointment if I was planning on traveling still. I sent an email to the consulate, and surprisingly they replied quickly and answered all my questions.
Step 3: Show up to your appointment
Have the right paperwork and show up to your appointment on time. Be prepared to go through security at the embassy. The appointment was quick, painless, and simple. Show up, turn in the application, a passport size photo, and pay the fee (for a normal renewal there was no extra fee, it was the same fee as if getting it renewed at home).
Step 4: Wait until you get notified your new passport is ready to pick up and pick it up
It was supposed to take 2 weeks to get my new passport, but mine was actually ready in about 1 week. During this time I was able to keep my original passport so I could still travel on it. Picking it up is the easiest part and took less than 5 minutes.
Step 5: Check the visa requirements for the country you’re in
This was actually the worst part for me. Before I could pick up my new passport, I had to get my visa extension for Thailand in my old passport because all the paperwork was filled out with my old passport information. Thankfully I had enough pages left to get my visa extension. The visa extension process for Thailand is ridiculous. I had to show up at the immigration office by 3am to get in an unofficial queue, to wait for the office to open at 8:30am, to get in the official queue. After 8 hours, I finally got visa extension, but then I had to pick up my new passport, and go back to Thai immigration the next morning to have the extension transferred to the new passport.
That’s it! The whole process is actually pretty painless, so don’t panic. I hope this helps some future travelers out there.
Until next time,
Ashley
Never Stop Wayfaring 